Application Procedures

Admission to the graduate programs in Geography is granted to college graduates with superior academic records whose interests align with those of faculty in the department. An undergraduate Geography major is not required and students with degrees in social, physical, and behavioral sciences or from the humanities are encouraged to apply. However, incoming graduate students who do not have a bachelor’s degree in Geography must demonstrate through remedial coursework or other preparation that they have acquired basic competencies in human geography, physical geography, statistics, and cartography.

Prospective students must submit the following materials to the Graduate College at:

In addition, other documents must be uploaded by the student and/or his/her references:

Current résumé or curriculum vitae (CV);

Names and email addresses of three references who will be automatically contacted by the application system to provide letters of recommendation. These letters should come from persons familiar with your academic abilities and prospects (at least two letters should be from university professors) and appear on professional letterhead or electronic facsimile;

Letter of application that states your academic and vocational background and interests as they relate to the specialties of departmental faculty. Ph.D. applicants are encouraged to provide an overview of their theses, whether completed or still in progress; and

Writing sample, which is used to gauge students’ current writing skills and hence prospects of success:

M.S. students should submit a recent term paper or paper completed as part of a capstone course (provided the student was the sole author).

Ph.D. students should submit a recent term paper from a graduate course or seminar, or their theses.

If applicants do not have such samples on hand, applicants can write an essay in response to one of these prompts instead.

Note: Applicants to the Ph.D. program must have earned a master’s degree before matriculating.

Applications are accepted throughout the year with the following deadlines: July 1 for the fall semester, November 1 for the spring semester, and April 1 for the summer term. However, students wishing to be considered for a teaching or research assistantship should submit all materials to the Graduate College by February 1st to receive full consideration for academic year support starting in August. It should be noted that admission decisions are made continuously, in most cases within two weeks of the department receiving all application materials. Decisions on academic year (August-May) assistantship awards are ordinarily made in March, but can also be made at other times when funds become available.